Apparatus and method for preparing bread dough

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a method and apparatus for optimizing the rising of bread dough, in home bread baking. The apparatus includes a bread board which is preferably foldable and which is electrically heated to a temperature between 78° and 85° whereby dough kneaded thereon is simultaneously heated. After initial kneading, the dough is flattened on the board and allowed to rise in the flattened condition while a hood for the board retains heat and moisture. The bread board is preferably provided with a removable cloth cover to keep the board clean and to aid kneading, and the board may have a projecting member which engages a table top edge, to prevent lateral motion during kneading. The periphery of the flattened dough mass is confined during rising and provision is made to alert the baker when the flattened dough mass has risen to twice its initial volume.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a division of application Ser. No. 579,408 filed Feb. 13, 1984now U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,703, issued Jan. 21, 1986, which, in turn is acontinuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 343,493, filed Jan. 28,1982, now abandoned.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the preparation of ingredients forbaking, most particularly to techniques used during leavening of wheatcontaining bread dough.

BACKGROUND ART

Many people engage in the baking of breads and similar foodstuffs intheir homes. The most common home making of bread requires that flour bemixed with ingredients such as yeast, water and others which suit thetaste. The ingredients are mixed together to form a pasty mass of dough.Typically a yeast, such as baker's yeast, is added at about 2 weightpercent to the dough. Yeast is included so that it will generate carbondioxide gas by fermenting sugars such as glucose, fructose, maltose, andsucrose which are present in the dough. Other yeast activity productsalso flavor the baked product and alter the dough's physical properties.For the living yeast cells to perform their desired function, they mustbe heated somewhat above room temperature.

The carbon dioxide gas evolved must be retained within the dough massand this is facilitated by presence in the dough of gluten which is theprotein part of the wheat berry. As a result of mechanical activitycaused by kneading of the dough, gluten forms an elastic substance whichenables the dough to retain, as a fine array of bubbles, the gasgenerated by the yeast.

Thus, consistency in the steps of kneading of the dough, and causing theyeast to become active by moderate heating, are important in themanufacture of quality home baked products. However, the home breadmaking process is typically inconsistent. The normal routine which isfollowed is to spiritedly push and fold the dough mass for a period oftime. This activity is commonly carried out on a smooth counter top orbread board, at room temperature of about 68° F.(20° C.). The next stepcommonly used, as taught by most baking recipe books, is to put thekneaded dough in a common bowl, as a large ball covered by a damp cloth.This is put in a warm place, such as a warm oven, or on a room heater,etc. Over a period of time the heat from the environment will penetratethe dough, increasing the activity of the yeast, thereby causing thedough to rise by action of the expanding gases. Of course, theenvironment cannot be too warm, elsewise the yeast may be killed.

Traditionally, a dough rising period may be from one-half to five hours,depending on the temperature of the environment. One of the principalreasons such a long time may be required is that it takes time for theheat to penetrate through the mass of dough due to its shape. On theother hand, care must be taken to not "over rise" the dough--that is,allow the dough to rise for too long a time--because an unpleasantyeasty taste may result. Ultimately, the dough may even deflate and fallback on itself. Conversely, if the dough does not rise sufficiently,then the texture will be heavy and glue-like. The preferred rise of thedough is reached by the dough having approximately doubled in size.Again, due to the shape of the dough mass when the latter is put into abowl or the like to rise, it is difficult for the occasional baker toaccurately judge when the doubling in size has occurred.

After rising, the bread dough is typically "punched down", meaning thatit is deflated and kneaded again. The object of this step is to give thebread an even texture and to get rid of the larger gas bubbles. Then,the dough is allowed to rise again, in essentially a repeat of the firststep. As the yeast is continuing to ferment, additional punchings andrisings may be utilized. Finally, the dough is put in an oven and heatedto a high temperature in the baking step.

As should be evident, the carrying out of the kneading and risingoperation requires attention to detail and is time consuming. Inaddition variations in the temperature of the room and the temperatureduring the rising step can affect the result. Naturally, commercialbakers use specialized equipment, including chambers having a controlledtemperature and humidity environment. See for instance, U.S. Pats. Nos.3,518,949 to Stock and 3,456,598 to McKay. Obviously equipment that isin commercial use is not suited for home baking of bread because of costand complexity.

In U.S. Pat. No. 3,418,453, Sparks discloses an electrically heateddough raising oven suited for home use. The oven is essentially acardboard box having a light bulb as a heating source. The dough,contained in pans, is placed in the chamber and heated by convection ofthe air within. Weiss in U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,073 discloses a portableenvironmental chamber which is useful in rising or proofing of dough.Basically, dough which is contained in a bowl standing on a flat surfaceis enveloped in a tent-like device. The tent-like covering has includedin its surface heating elements which, by a combination of radiation andconvection, heat the dough in the bowl. These prior art devices arehelpful in providing better control of the dough temperature but, thetime and uniformity of rising will still be limited by the fact that thedough is heated as a roughly spherical mass, from the exterior. Also,different shapes of dough masses will have different rising times,contributing to variability in the end product.

As will be apparent from the foregoing, the occasional home-bread bakerwill encounter problems relating to the ability to detect when the doughhas risen to its preferred volume, i.e., has doubled in size, andrelating to the time needed to enable the dough to rise in the preferredmanner. The prior art has recognized that a dough mass should bemonitored while rising to ensure that it has doubled in volume duringeach rising step. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,429,269, issued Sept. 19,1922 to A. J. Banks discloses a fermentation meter which serves tomonitor and measure the degree of expansion of a rising mass of dough.U.S. Pat. No. 2,507,425, issued May 9, 1950 to C. D. Swartout disclosesa compound container and lid which contains a rising mass of dough andprovides an indication of the degree to which the dough mass has risen.U.S. Pat. No. 1,654,897, issued Jan. 3, 1928 to A. A. Rosenblumdiscloses an apparatus for testing and detecting the amount of risewhich a fermenting mass of dough undergoes. The aforesaid conceptsdisclosed in these patents are subject to certain problems of accuracyand time due principally to the shape of the dough mass as it is setaside to rise. We address these problems in the following manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is intended to improve the process by which bread isleavened, particularly the steps during which the bread dough is causedto rise. Specifically, this invention is operable to speed and ease thetask of making bread at home, and to minimize the amount of skill andattention required to make a uniform baked product in the home.

In accordance with the invention, dough is heated at the same time as itis being kneaded, by heating the bread board on which the kneading iscarried out to a temperature in the range of 78°-85° F., preferably to atemperature of about 85° F.(30° C.). The heated bread board used in thepractice of the invention is preferably fitted with means for preventingthe board from sliding about during the kneading step. Preferably theboard has a projecting member which engages the edge of the table onwhich the board is placed for use.

Preferably, the board may be made of a conductive metal such asaluminum. The board is preferably provided with a medial hinged joint toallow it to be folded into a compact configuration for storage. A clothcover is provided which can be attached to the edges of the board andremoved therefrom for cleaning. The cloth provides a textured surface onwhich the bread dough is worked. To prevent loss of moisture and heat, aconcave hood which fits about the board is preferably used. When restingon the board, this hood provides an enclosed space above the boardwithin which the dough may rise.

Lateral barriers are adapted to be fitted onto the board preferably infixed position so as to confine the entire periphery of the rising doughmass whereby substantially all of the expansion of the dough mass willoccur in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the board. Thebarriers should be at least partially adjustable to accommodatedifferent initial amounts of dough. An indicator is preferably used inconjunctin with the device to enable one to determine when the dough hasexpanded to twice its initial volume.

In the preferred use of the apparatus, the dough is worked upon theheated cloth-covered board, whereby the dough is kneaded and heatedsimultaneously, until it achieves a desired consistency. Because thedough contacts the heated board as a relatively large surface area massduring this step, the initial kneading is made easy. In fact, risingstarts to occur after about five minutes. When the dough has beenkneaded to develop the desired consistency, it is spread as a flat masson the board within the barriers which are put in place on the board soas to confine the entire periphery of the flattened dough mass. It willbe noted that the periphery of the thus confined dough mass will berestricted to planes which are perpendicular to the surface of theboard. The indicator may take the form of visible markings on thelateral barriers, with one marking indicating the initial level of theflattened dough mass, i.e., the starting point, and another markingindicating when the dough mass will have doubled in volume.Alternatively, the indicator may take the form of a moveable memberwhich contacts the top of the flattened dough mass to ride thereonduring the entire rising period. This type of indicator will move upwardas the dough rises and will have provisions for identifying the desiredinitial thickness of the flattened dough mass, and also the desiredfinal thickness of the flattened dough mass which will be reached whenthe dough mass has doubled in volume.

After the flattened dough mass has been placed on the board and beenconfined laterally, the hood will be placed on the board to promotedesirable rising conditions. The hood can be relatively transparent toenable monitoring of the indicator or, in the case of a moveableindicator, the latter can project through an opening in the hood forready observation.

Since the dough mass is placed on the heated board in a flattened form,rather than as a rounded ball or amorphous lump, the heat from theboards spreads through the dough faster and more evenly to speed uprising of the dough considerably. Confinement of the lateral edges ofthe flattened dough mass insures that all expansion of the dough will bein a direction perpendicular to the surface of the board which resultsin very accurate measurements of the dough mass as it rises. The abilityto adjust the position of at least some of the confining members on theboard enables one to use the same starting point and the same finishingpoint on the indicator regardless of the initial volume of dough beingused. This greatly enhances the utility of the apparatus and method ofthis invention.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a method andapparatus for use in preparing dough for baking wherein the duration ofthe preparation time is greatly reduced.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a method andapparatus of the character described wherein the dough is kneaded on aheated board and placed thereon in a flattened mass to rise.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a method andapparatus of the character described wherein provision is made forconfining all lateral edges of the flattened dough mass during rising sothat all expansion of the dough occurs in a direction perpendicular tothe surface of the board on which the dough rests.

It is another object of this invention to provide a method and apparatusof the character described wherein the expansion of the flattened doughmass is monitored to provide an indication of when the risen volume ofthe dough is twice the initial volume.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following description ofpreferred embodiments thereof when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of a preferredembodiment of an apparatus formed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the apparatus taken along line 2--2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the board showing the manner in which itis folded for storage;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the board and the perimeterconfining plates of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 showing theperimeter confining plates in a single recipe position; and

FIG. 6 is a top plan view similar to FIG. 5 but showing the perimenterconfining plates in a double recipe position.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention is described in terms of the preparation of dough forbread, however, it will be understood that the invention will be equallyuseful with other kinds of bakery products, including those made usingthe sourdough method.

FIGS. 1 and 2 generally show a preferred embodiment of the apparatus 20of the invention, mounted on a table surface 22. The board 24, which hasa substantially planar top surface 26, is preferably made of aluminum orother heat transmitting material. Incorporated into the board 24 areelectric resistance heating elements, 28. Electric power to the elements28 is regulated by means of controller 30 which enables precise settingof the temperature of the board. Preferably, the board is at atemperature of about 85° F. (30° C.)

The board is supported on the table surface by the short feet 32 whichmay be of a plastic, metal, or elastomer. Preferably, they are of anelastomer which provides frictional resistance to motion, with respectto the table surface 22. Shown resting on the top of surface 26 of theboard is a dough mass 34. The working surface 26 of the board 24 iscovered with a cloth cover 25 which is stretched over the board. Thecloth 25 is provided with grommets 17 which engage pins 19 projectingfrom the sides of the board 24. The dough mass is ordinarily worked bypushing and pulling motion, perpendicular to the edge 36 of the tablesurface 22, as is described below in more detail. Thus, there is atendency for the board to move in the same direction. Accordingly, theboard 24 is fitted with a projection 38 which extends below the plane ofthe surface 22 of the table. Of course, this plane is the same as theplane of the projecting ends of the feet 32 of the board. Thus, theprojection member 38 engages the edge 36 of the table and preventsmotion of the board across the table. When a person uses the breadboard, the person may press his or her body against the front edge 40 ofthe member 38 whereby outward motion of the board away from the edge ofthe table 22 will be prevented as well, and the board will remainstationary during use, regardless of pushing or pulling of dough acrossthe board surface.

Also shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a hood 42, preferably made of transparentmaterial, such as acrylic plastic, which hood 42 will serve to retainthe heat which tends to rise from the board, and to retain the moisturein the dough mass. The hood 42 is adapted to fit around the periphery ofthe board, with its stepped side wall 44 engaging the edges 40, 46 ofthe periphery of the board.

The board 24 is formed with C-shaped clips 23 which snap onto the boardand overlie the cloth cover 25. The clips 23 are adapted to receive apair of elongated plates 27 which, when mounted in the the clips 23 arefixed perpendicular to the surface 26 of the board 24, as shown inFIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 4, each plate 27 is provided with a first pairof parallel slots 29 formed on one side thereof, and with a second pairof parallel slots 31 formed on the opposite side thereof. The distanced¹ between the slots 29 is preferably twice the distance d² between theslots 31. A second pair of elongated plates 33 are provided and areadapted to be slidably inserted into the slots 29 or 31 in the plates 27so as to extend there between, as shown in FIG. 1. The plates 27 and 33may be provided with visible indicia lines 35 and 37 which, when theplates 27 and 33 are fixed in place on the board 24, are a predetermineddistance above the surface 26 of the board 24. The indicia lines 35 and36 are used to indicate when a flattened dough mass has risen to twiceits initial volume on the board 24, with the line 35 providing anindication to the user of the proper initial height of a flattened doughmass confined by the plates 27 and 33, and the line 37 providing anindication to the user of when the dough mass has risen to twice itsinitial volume. Different paired indicia lines can be used of the sameplate for different types of dough, or different plates can be used fordifferent types of dough. The plates 27 are provided with notches 60which interfit with mating notches 62 formed on the upper surface of theclips 23. The notches 60 and 62 insure that the plates 27 are adequatelysecured in place on the board 24 so as to be capable of confining theedges of the dough mass.

As an alternative to the indicia lines 35 and 37 as means for gaugingthe amount of rise of the flattened dough mass, an elongated gauge 41shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be used in conjunction with the hood 42. Thegauge 41 includes an elongated stem 43 and an annular foot 45 secured tothe base of the stem 43. A pair of indicia marks 47 and 49 are disposedon the stem 43 spaced along the axis thereof. The foot 45 rests on thetop of the flattened, confined dough mass 34 and the stem 43 projectsthrough an opening 51 in the top of the hood 42. The proper degree offlattening of the dough mass is ascertained by insuring that the indiciamark 47 is aligned with the outer top surface of the hood 42 when thelatter is placed properly on the board 24. When the dough has risensufficiently to lift the stem 43 so as to align the indicia mark 49 withthe outer top surface of the hood 42, the dough 34 will have risen so asto double its initial volume so that the user will be alerted to removethe dough from the apparatus for further processing. As noted above,provisions can be made to adapt this type of gauge for use withdifferent types of dough.

Referring to FIG. 3, it will be noted that the board 24 is provided witha medial hinge 64 so as to divide the board 24 into opposed halves 24Aand 25B which can be pivoted from a compact face-to-face position forstorage, to the flattened positions shown in FIG. 1. The cloth cover 25can be fitted onto the board 24 when the latter is in an intermediatepivotal position and then stretched tightly over the top surface of theboard when the latter is pivoted to its flat working position.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, there is shown the manner in which theplates 27 and 33 are set up to provide for different volumes of theflattened dough mass. When the user desires to use a single recipe for avolume of dough which forms a known number of bread loaves, which wouldbe a base recipe, the plates 27 are set in the clips 23 with the slots29 on the opposed plates 27 facing each other. The plates 33 are thenset into the opposed slots 29 and the kneaded dough mass is placedwithin the confines of the plates 27 and 33 and flattened on the heatedboard 26 until the top surface of the flattened dough mass 34 is evenwith the lower indicia marks 35 on the plates 27 and 33. As previouslynoted, the marks 35 and 37 will be pregauged to be operable with givenbread dough recipes. The hood 42 is then placed over the flattenedconfined dough mass 34 on the board, as shown on FIG. 2 to entrap heatand moisture and the dough is allowed to rise. When the top surface ofthe rising dough mass reaches the indicia marks 37, rising hasprogressed to the point where the volume of dough has doubled from itsoriginal volume, and the dough is removed from the apparatus.

When a double recipe is used, the plates 27 are reversed and set inslots 25 with the slots 31 in the opposed plates 27 facing each other,as shown in FIG. 6. The plates 33 are then set in place in the slots 31and the dough mass is placed within the confines of the plates 27 and 33and flattened down thereon as described above. The rising process thenproceeds as described above until doubling of the dough mass is noted.The rising of the dough is indicated in FIG. 2 by the phantom line 34.

In use, the board is allowed to heat up to its operating temperature.Next, the dough which has been mixed in a separate bowl, is placed onthe cloth 25 covering the surface 26 of the board. While pressingagainst the edge 40 of the board, so the projection member 38 is pushedfirmly against the edge 36 of the table top, the user proceeds to kneadthe dough. During this step the dough is simultaneously heated by itscontinuously changing contact with the surface of the board. We preferto use a motion which comprises pushing and pulling only on the dough,in contrast to the normal routine of pushing, then rotating thespread-out dough mass 90 degrees, folding it over on itself, and pushingagain, to repeat the process. After the dough has been kneaded to aconsistency which experience shows is desirable, confining plate 27 and33 are put in place, the dough is spread to as flat a mass, as possible,so as to align the top surface of the flattened dough mass with themarkings 35, or to align the marking 47 on the gauge 41 with the top ofthe hood 42. With the hood in place on the dough board, the dough isleft stationary as it rises. Typically, with this invention this willtake about ten minutes. The hood 42 retains moisture and warmth,preserving dough properties and speeding rising. Then following thetraditional procedure, the dough is "punched down" on the board andagain confined in a flat mass, covered, and the dough is allowed to risea second time. Additional risings may be used. Usually, after the secondrising the dough is removed from the covered board, put in a pan or thelike, placed on the board and allowed to rise in the pan before beingplaced in an oven for baking.

Thus, it will be seen that the combination of the steps of kneading onthe heated surface, and spreading the dough out flatly on a heatedsurface while it is confined and covered, serve to greatly speed theimparting of heat to the dough mass and allow accurate initial and finalvolume measurement. Also, the controlled temperature of the surface ofthe board prevents overheating. The kneading step is easier because theheating makes the dough softer and more pliable; the start of risingalso contributes to this effect. Since the rising starts during kneadingand is relatively rapid thereafter, the home baker is not frustrated ordiscouraged by having to wait a prolonged and uncertain period for therising to take place.

The board is preferably made of a metal or other good heat conductingmaterial, to provide most uniform temperatures; however, ceramics andglass will be found generally usable, as will certain heat tolerantpolymers. Preferably, the heating component will be electric resistancewires embedded in the material of the board. Alternately, elements maybe attached to the underside of a board formed of thin sheet metal orthe like. If the board's surface is made of glass or othernon-conductive material, conductive surface films may be adhered to theunderside of the surface of the board.

The hood may be made of various materials and in various configurationswhile carrying out the objects of the invention. It is desirable thatthe hood be transparent, to observe the indicia markings which monitorrising of the dough. In the event that the hood should become fogged bymoisture from the rising dough, the hood can be momentarily lifted tocheck the degree of rise on the barriers. The hood may alternately bemade of an insulating material, to lower energy requirements. To easestorage problems of the apparatus, the hood may be configured to permitcollapsing or folding to a thin shape and the elements of the hood maybe hinged or designed for easy disassembly.

It will be appreciated that by flattening and confining the perimeter ofthe dough mass on the heated board surface and then allowing theflattened, heated dough mass to rise, the heat from the board willspread through the dough mass quicker and more evenly than were thedough allowed to rise as an amorphous mass. Thus the period of timeneeded for rising any given quantity of dough will be significantlylowered. The flattened, confined dough mass also enables significantlygreater volume measurement to be made so as to enable one to moreaccurately determine when the initial amount of dough has doubled involume. The adjustability of the confining plate allows great latitudeof use for this invention. It will be understood that, while theconfining means is disclosed as sets of parallel plates fixed to theheated board, such fixation of the plates to the board can be dispensedwith, and the confining means can also take other forms, such ascircular, or the like.

Although this invention has been shown and described with respect to apreferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in this artthat various changes in form and detail thereof may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for preparing dough for baking, saidapparatus comprising:(a) a heated support member having a top planarsurface for supporting a mass of dough; (b) lateral confining meansadapted to be positioned on said top surface of said support member,said confining means including confining surfaces for engaging theentire periphery of the dough mass, said confining surfaces beingsubstantially perpendicular to said top surface of said support member;(c) means for securing said confining means in place on said supportmember; (d) first means operable to determine an initial positioning ofa substantially planar upper surface of a flattened dough masspositioned on said top surface of said support member, which flatteneddough mass has its entire periphery confined by said confining meansconfining surfaces; and (e) second means vertically offset from saidfirst means for detecting when the upper surface of the flattened doughmass has risen to a level due to doubling of the initial volume of theflattened dough mass.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means forsecuring comprises a plurality of clips releasably mounted on saidsupport member.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said confining meanscomprising a first pair of parallel plates having basal portions securedto said clips.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said confining meansfurther comprising a second pair of parallel plates extending betweensaid first pair of parallel plates and releasably secured thereto. 5.The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said first pair of parallel platescomprises associated slots therein for receiving end portions of saidsecond pair of parallel plates.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, whereinsaid slots include a first pair of slots disposed on one side of eachsaid first parallel plates and spaced apart from each other a firstpredetermined distance and a second pair of slots disposed on theopposite side of said first parallel plates and spaced from each other asecond predetermined distance which is twice said first predetermineddistance.
 7. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said first and secondgauge means comprise indicia markings disposed on at least one of saidparallel plates.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a hoodmember having vertically extending side portions and a generallyhorizontal top portion, said side portions being adapted to engage saidsupport member outwardly of said confining means, and said top portionincluding a medial opening, said first and second means comprisingrespective indicia markings dispersed on an elongated member slidablydisposed in said medial opening, and said elongated member havingaffixed thereto an annular foot operable to contact the planar uppersurface of the flattened dough mass when the latter is positioned withinsaid confing means of the support member.